Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Written by
Emily Hurst, MSW

     Phrases like “living mindfully” and “living in the moment” are common when talking about the stress of modern life. But what do those phrases look like in practice, and how can we easily start a mindfulness practice that helps with the inevitable difficulty of living in the world?

 Mindfulness

     Mindfulness is historically associated with Buddhism and Hindu teachings. Its application entered the mainstream in Western medicine thanks to the pioneering work of John Kabat Zinn. In 1979, Kabat-Zinn developed a structured course called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction that used mindfulness techniques with patients experiencing chronic illness.  Patients engaged in mindfulness found an increased ability to cope with stress, pain, and illness.  

     To be mindful is to incorporate two major ingredients into the complex stew that is our inner life—awareness and acceptance. Awareness is the ability to direct our attention to what is going on with our inner world—What am I feeling? Acceptance is the ability to compassionately observe our feelings without judgement or avoidance.

My Journey with Mindfulness

     As a mental health professional working in a correctional setting, I sought mindfulness training to find something that would help my clients experiencing incarceration find peace and ease in their lives. I had no idea the affect it would have on my own life. Through this training, I learned about breathwork meditation to calm the body and mind. This started with just paying attention to the breath—awareness. I started to notice where I felt my breath in my body—was it in my chest or my belly? By simply closing my eyes and exploring the way the air moved in and out of me, I was able to find space between my thoughts and my reactions to them. It didn’t mean my mind was blank, but I was able to notice them and bring my focus back to my breath. I also learned to bring a compassionate, nonjudgmental perspective to my thoughts—acceptance. When I noticed myself judging others waiting in line at a coffee shop, instead of thinking “I am a bad person for thinking that,” I instead just noticed it and thought “that was a judging thought.”  

     I knew something in me had shifted during my drive home. I did not listen to music or wistfully reminisce about the past or plan the future. Instead, I drove in silence. I noticed the rolling hills, the changing leaves, and the sunshine on my windshield. I found myself becoming more aware of the world. I still experienced distressing feelings and unhelpful thoughts at times, but I was buoyed with the comfort of knowing I could return to my breath when things became difficult. Knowing I could share this powerful skill with my clients helped energize my work, which in turn protected me from burnout that comes with working in a challenging setting.

“We cannot control what thoughts and emotions arise within us, nor can we control the universal truth that everything changes. But we can learn to step back and rest in the awareness of what is happening. That awareness can be our refuge." ~ Sharon Salzberg

Start Your Own Mindfulness Practice:

  • Begin with one-minute meditations. If you want to set a timer, the app Insight Timer gently lets you know your minute is up.
  • Find somewhere comfortable. I sometimes practice sitting in my car.
  • Focus on your breath, where it is coming from, how it moves throughout your body, even its color or quality.
  • It helps focus to say to yourself, “Breathing in, breathing out.”
  • Your thoughts will come. Notice them and gently bring your focus back to your breath.
  • Be kind to your wandering mind; it is doing what it is supposed to do—think thoughts!  Focus on acknowledging thoughts with compassion and free of judgement and gently bring yourself back to your breath.
  • It is called “a practice” for a reason!
    • This is a new way of being with yourself. Focus on small, reasonable goals instead of diving into a goal that leaves you feeling discouraged.
  • Focus on being kind to yourself. If you are gentle on yourself, you will be gentler on others.

 Mindfulness Resources on Campus

For Students

Mindfulness workshops and retreats through Student Wellness

 

For Staff and Faculty

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

Cover image by Benjamin Child.